Before the Astros' game Friday night against the White Sox, their second of the 2023 season, the players, coaches and manager Dusty Baker were honored with their 2022 World Series championship rings. The Astros last won the World Series in 2017 so while some of the players were getting their second ring, a good number of them were getting their first.
Here's a look at the rings. We'll highlight some of the features below.
Among the highlights on those things:
Two orange sapphires on the left side to commemorate the two combined no-hitters, which included Game 4 of the World Series. Each player gets his jersey number on the left side, outlined in yellow gold and filled in with diamonds. There are 60 diamonds circling the ring to honor the Astros' 60th year as a Major League Baseball franchise. On the right side, there's one big diamond in the middle of the World Series trophy, representing the first time the Astros won the title at home (they celebrated in Dodger Stadium in 2017). Also on the right side is the year 2022, outlined in yellow gold and filled in with 29 diamonds. At the bottom of the World Series trophy on the right side, there are six diamonds to honor the Astros' six straight ALCS appearances. On top, there are 22 emerald-cut diamonds to represent the Astros' 22 runs scored in the World Series. The "H" on top is made from 11 baguette diamonds for five AL West titles, four AL pennants and two World Series titles. There are 42 blue sapphires on top to honor manager Dusty Baker's 42 postseason games before winning his first World Series as manager -- it also doubles to honor Jackie Robinson's league-wide retired number, 42. There are still 117 more diamonds on top to represent the 117 games the Astros won in the regular season and playoffs combined. Finally, there are 71 more diamonds in the star to symbolize the 71 strikeouts recorded by Astros pitchers during the World Series, which was a record.That ... is a lot of bling.